The present invention relates to a device for printing two-dimensional parts, particularly plastic substrates, preferably plastic cards, which device comprises a depot containing the parts to be printed, a printing station comprising a printing device, and a transport device for transporting the parts through the printing station.
The present invention basically relates to the printing of any desired substrate, which can include so-called plastic cards, for example. For this purpose, mention can be made, merely by way of example, of bankcards, credit cards, identification cards, cards serving for access authorization, etc.
The printing of plastic cards involves certain problems to the extent that the cards have to be conveyed and printed at a high speed in the production process. Maximum speeds of 0.4 msec are thus achieved in the entire process, as a result of which up to 6,000 parts or cards can be printed per hour.
Solutions known so far from practical experience, in which conventional printers are used for printing cards or the like, involve considerable problems with regard to the precision required in continuous printing. The parts or substrates to be printed can thus be positioned only with insufficient precision in front of the printing station. High fluctuations occur in the speed of the conveying device when transporting the parts. Furthermore, the respective position of the part cannot be detected to a sufficient extent or with sufficient speed.
It is therefore the object underlying the present invention to design and improve a device for printing two-dimensional parts, particularly plastic substrates, preferably plastic cards, in such a way that the cards can be printed properly, while being positioned accurately during the printing process, at a sufficiently high conveying and printing speed. In particular, this should also allow for a situation such as multi-color printing, which requires different print modules to print accurately positioned parts, even multiple times in a superposed manner, namely to create secondary colors.